TV writer Steven Moffat has dismissed rumours of a Doctor Who movie coming soon, despite comments from director David Yates, supposedly in the driving seat for the adaptation.
MTV News quizzed Yates, director of four Harry Potter films, on the red carpet last night about Doctor Who's silver screen incarnation, which he had …

COMMENTS

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Internal politics

This is internal politics. The Beeb has a long history with Who of one arm doing one thing while another arm pulls against it, always to the detriment of the series. Right back to the 80's this has been happening.

For me this is Moffat putting a few people in their place. He's the show runner. If some execs are sniffing around excited by Hollywood he's just put them back in their place.

Indeed Moffat as exec producer has the final say. And this isn't the first time this has happened.

Earlier this year some BBC exec with no direct connection with who decided to announce that there would only be a handfull of specials in 2012 as there was in 2012. He cited as his reason that Moffat would be concentrating on Sherlock. I, along with many other Whovians, actually saw this as more of a wish by the exec concerned. Basically it appears that he is more of a fan of Sherlock than Who. However anybody of a logical turn of mind would realise that Who makes a lot of money for the BBC, certainly more than Sherlock ever will. So the Beeb would always favour Who over Sherlock. Moffat himself pulled the wayward exec up short by stating that he had plenty of time to concentrate on both shows and other projects and would not be cutting back on Who.

RE; If made, this film would suck

Not necessarily...

There's plenty of room for a prequel. Something that might chronicle the Doctor's flight from Gallifrey, For example, the Doctor take up his first job, a post at the Bureau Of Temporal Observation and Monitoring, hoping to rise amongst Timelord ranks to join the Temporal Operations division (Ah, but Doctor, everyone here starts at the BOTOM and works their way up to the TOP!) when he monitors a temporal crime being committed by none other than the arch-chancellor. His discovery has been noted, however, and the complete record of his life erased, including even his name, and replaced with that of a renegade.

He is pursued across the death zone (plenty of scope for some monster encounters there), his "family" are held to ransom and entirely exterminated with the sole exception of his infant grand-daughter whom he rescues. The President (or maybe Rassillon) observes the arch-chancellor's deceit, knowledge of which would destroy Timelord society and spread chaos throughout the universe. He locks the bad guy in a temporal prison and offers the Doctor a deal - eternal imprisonment, banishment to the anti-matter world of Omega, or his memory of these events is erased and he must go into exile for the "murder" of the arch-chancellor.

Pff!

Although...

If whatever event occurs at the climax of a prequel was dramatic enough and timey-wimey enough, the Doctor could be fragmented and end up as (1) The one that gets sent back in time by Omega in Lungbarrow, (2) The Valeyard, (3) The Doctor and (4) The Watcher.

They've done temporal fragmentation stories before (e.g. City of Death).

Given that

Moffat us probably one of the only writers in the BBC who is a bona fide Hollywood writer (for Spielberg & Jackson ffs!) the chances are that he already has more clout there than any BBC exec could dream of.

Please god NO NOT JACKSON

Aw, an American Doctor Who could be fun!

Jones: Doctor, the Cybermen are attacking. What do we do?

[Doctor pulls automatic pistol from belt, slams in magazine]

Doctor: Well Jones, this shit just got real.

[Cyberman appears from arount the corner. Doctor blazes away firing several hundred shots form his pistol without reloading. Many unnamed ancillary characters are shot and killed immediately without screaming, bleeding or begging for their families]

Doctor: Fuck yeah, have that you motherfucking tin-can.

[Cyberman shouts something in language other than english before stealing a motorbike from a passerby and taking off]

Jones: Doctor, he's heading straight for the Superbowl! And that bomb only has seconds before it explodes.

Doctor: Cor blimey Jones, don't get your knickers in a twist! [pats tardis] this old girl has a few tricks yet, what what.

[Cue Hard Rock soundtrack. Tardis leaps into the air and transforms spectacularly into a Chevy muscle-car. Doctor gives chase in largely straight line, weaving only to knock over as many improbably-sited market stalls and water-filled bollards as possible. Several police follow only to fly into the air and land upside-down for no obvious reason...]

Missed a few key plot devices

Good start!

The doctor needs to be in his vest showing off airbrushed muscles.

The Automatic should be the size of a house. It should be shot from the hip allowing the Doctor to take out snipers 3 miles away (he is a skilled alien after all). The 200 round magazine does have to be refilled ostentatiously by slamming the butts of both your automatics together behind your back think Lara Croft.

The Doctor needs to be assisted by a cute kid & the day saved by a female. Extra points if the Kid/female are from an ethnic minority / disabled / or an adult male with alternative sexual orientation.

The villain should have a posh British accent even if they came from outer Venoa major.

The Doctor needs to have a buddy from an ethnic minority who has a traditional family which whilst dysfunctional is very cute. Cut to loving scenes with parent & child as the world ends.

Of course the Cybermen (who will have Gold legs and a curious crescent motif) will be defeated by either a hairclip, the attractive assistants glasses (removed with a lingering cleavage shot and hair flick) or the cute Brat's science project a pocket fusion reactor made out of waste coke cans (demonstrated to attractive assistant such that the gratuitous cleavage shot can be achieved).

Of course large screens showing a command line interface controlled by handsome hero wiggling his Pecs.

Don't forget the courageous Mexican who sacrifices his life so his family & friends can live.

It must include Global warning and the Aliens being invited to take over the world by Maggie Thatcher & Ronald Reagan / Bush lookalikes.

Oh and senseless but brave sacrifice of the Green Berets.

Chuck a few helicopters & fighter jets in there and we have a Blockbuster.

Agree the time war could do with expanding on (sorry Timothy Dalton in Aztec robes was not the detail we were looking for) , the relationship with the master is still a good seam to be mined.

Get Arnie out of California for that role, right up his street...

I believe...

... there's a huge Time-war shaped hole, just waiting to be filled with a nice film. Oooer - I suppose that would that mean they would need to get Christopher Ecclestone or Paul McGann back in. So that's probably not a goer.

It's already been done...

There's already been an American made Doctor Who film (1996)

It had some good aspects (Paul McGann was an excellent doctor, the TARDIS was wonderfully steampunk, plus it was totally canonical) but featured typically American trashiness (car chases, gang shootings, references to the Doctor's "Britishness" etc.) And the music was a bombastic, full orchestra, god-awful version of the beloved theme tune along the lines of "Star Trek - The Next Generation."

And that's totally canonical is it? That and quite a few other references in the TV movie are best forgotten. It started out with a decent premise that would have made a good Who story, but unfortunately it got battered about by the usual production committee and turned into utter dross. Bear in mind that it was originally intended as a pilot, but the option was not taken up. Wonder why?

Wilfred Mott

Those two were terrible movies, but their premise was ridiculous. The laughable premise was that the lead was a human doctor who's surname happened to be Who had invented the TARDIS more or less in his garden shed.

BTW back in the nineties I used to have a GP who's surname was Oo. He said it used to cause all sorts of problems particularly with telephone conversations where people would request that he pull the other one because it was endowed with bells. I bet he has even more bother since the series' popularity has blossomed.

One at a time?

Don't let America anywhere near it

They've already completely fucked up Torchwood, God knows what they'd do to Doctor Who. Not that all American shows are bad, Breaking Bad for example is outstanding, it's just that they don't really translate British TV shows very well. Skins is another example that they screwed up.

Torchwood

RTD was in overall charge of that operation. Apparently he likes the idea of Torchwood being mini-series (like the past two) rather than extended "monster of the week" series like the first couple. He claimed Miracle Day was still firmly rooted in Wales despite being largely set in America. Since Eve Myles said in a Radio Times interview that if recommissioned for future series she'd move to LA, it looks as though the US is the future of Torchwood, with RTD capitulating to the requests of Starz.

Why oh why couldn't they have put Moffat in charge of Torchwood? He'd probably also be able to produce a decent replacement for SJA while he was at it...

Re: Torchwood

Great movie...

I just came back from 2016 (don't ask), and the Dr Who movie was great with the new Doctor. The "Children" of the Master were very well done, possibly the most frightening enemies in the Dr Who universe. No, the movie didn't have a big plot hole, but it did have... ok, I'm giving away too much. I have a reliable source who told me that if they do not make the Dr Who movie which already exists in 2016, the temporal consequences will be severe.

BBC, please don't take your love to town

Let's say a $US 100 million budget for such a movie, which would require approximately $150 to $200 million in box office to break even taking into account payments to cinema's, profit share and marketing.

I think we can all figure out where such a flick would have to go to make a profit and that place has a especially vile fecal smell to it.

Change history?

@TRT

Almost completely nailed it my friend. There is no reason on Earth or any other planet that they couldn't do an origins story with a different young Doctor in his first incarnation. That's actually the story I would love to see but at the same time it's the mystery surrounding that story that keeps Doctor Who so interesting. I suspect, however, that Mr Moffat has some plans in that regard 'the question that must never be answered' (because whatever the answer was it would be more boring that what you can imagine yourself)

I would definitely like to see an origins story and talk about how he stole the TARDIS and why but it would have to be delicately done. I actually really liked the Paul McGann TV movie (except for Eric Roberts who was utter gash) but the Peter Cushing ones were either a remake of an already done episode or, again, utter gash.

I like your idea for the story TRT, you should send that to Mr Moffat. Seriously, it's really good. No need to wipe his memory though, that can just happen with old age. There's no need to worry too much about canon either, as long as they don't piss all over it then it's fine.